Amy Poehler, 2009 Woman of the Year

"One of the great things to happen in the past 25 years is the variety of voices, styles, and points of view that have emerged from female comedians. That big umbrella of 'women in comedy' is just too narrow a term to hold us all in! I spend a lot of time working with young women through [a program I cofounded called] Smart Girls; with all the Photoshop and fake stuff, their world is so different from when I grew up. But that makes them crave authenticity—they're really good at sniffing it out. I see how these young women are thinking, how they're creating, and I like the real estate they take up. I feel very optimistic and energized by them, and I can't wait to see what's next. Of course, the awesome and infuriating thing about life is that you have no idea what's next. Which is hard for a control freak like me!"

Hillary Clinton, 1992 and 2008 Woman of the Year

"In 1990 no woman had ever commanded a space mission or become a four-star general; 25 years later, we've done that and much more. Still, we've got to do more to unlock the potential of women and girls. There's strong evidence that when women and girls can participate fully in their families and communities, economies grow and nations are more secure. Let's make the full participation of women and girls a reality, once and for all."

Lena Dunham, 2012 Woman of the Year

"One of the things that has happened in my lifetime is that the Internet has appeared, creating an opportunity for women all over the world to have a debate around feminism that was missing in mainstream culture before. Today we know about Malala Yousafzai and her struggle for an education. And Columbia University graduate Emma Sulkowicz, who brought massive awareness to campus sexual assault with Mattress Performance. Of course, there is so much that hasn't shifted culturally. My mother spent the seventies and eighties protesting on behalf of abortion rights, and now I am still railing against politicians who are trying to squash those rights. People always say you can't change other people's minds, but you actually can. We all have the power to be active using our intellect and our social media presence.

Condoleezza Rice, 2008 Woman of the Year

"The most important thing you can do in life is find your passion. One day I walked into a classroom, in international politics taught by a Soviet specialist, a man named Josef Korbel, who ironically was Madeleine Albright's father. Professor Korbel opened a world to me. When you find your passion, you'll realize that you didn't find it, it found you. And then you can go on to try to make a difference in the world."

Malala Yousafzai, 2013 Woman of the Year

"Women and girls have come a long way, but more than 60 million girls do not go to school at all. My hope is that we will all stand up for those girls. A quality education enables girls to fulfill their potential, find their voices, and achieve true equality."

Nicole Kidman, 2008 Woman of the Year

I've been through births, marriages, deaths—I've had the cold, hard facts of life hit me right in the face. And yet I still look in wonder at this gift of life. Ultimately, we're all here to take care of the next generation. Women are often held back by our tendency to second-guess ourselves. Where a man says, 'I want this' and goes and gets it, a woman goes, 'Do I deserve it? What do you think?' We need to give each other confidence to withstand all of the different ways people can try to stop you. The more you give back, the better the world will be."

Jennifer Lopez, 1999 and 2011 Woman of the Year

"The women in my life shaped me into the woman that I am today. My grandmother taught me how to cook and not to be afraid to serve and to be humble—and to always go out looking nice, because people like that and then they respect you. My mom is a teacher and a mother who worked tirelessly and taught me discipline and a work ethic. But the most important lesson that they all taught me is to take care of other women, support other women. Your girls are the most loyal people in your life. They will always be there. They will never leave you. Those are the greatest loves of my life."

Laverne Cox, 2014 Woman of the Year

"So often we celebrate the courage of trans people. I experience that, and Caitlyn [Jenner] is experiencing that. But then the same people who celebrate our bravery will also support things like prohibitive bathroom rules. Applauding a transgender person is wonderful, but it's only part of what needs to happen. How do we make their lives better? Twenty-five years from now, I hope we are moving past the gender binary model; rejecting gender stereotypes means everyone can be liberated."

Liya Kebede and Christy Turlington Burns, 2013 Women of the Year

"More mothers around the world are surviving childbirth than ever before. But still one in four babies are born without skilled care. It's our greatest responsibility to make maternity care accessible for all women in the next 25 years."

Stella McCartney, 2009 Woman of the Year

"As a designer, I have the ability to celebrate my customers, embrace their differences, and not just try to create cookie-cutter women. For the next 25 years, I would like fashion design to be more than fashion; for it to encourage people and challenge people to be socially and ethically responsible."

Shonda Rhimes, 2007 Woman of the Year

"Over the past 25 years, we've proven that shows revolving around women can be popular. Women can now be shown as being competitive in the workplace, owning their sexuality, choosing an abortion, and the audience will be OK with it. But behind the scenes, there's still so much work to do. Sadly, I don't feel like there are a lot more women in charge than there were when I started out—though I am seeing a large influx of women going to film schools now, so I'm hopeful that's going to change things.